Brassiere



Jan. 9, 1951 HUNAU 2,537,831

BRASSIERE Filed Dec. 4, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

L u m/v Hun/nu ,4 T TOPA/E Y Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,537,831 BRAssIEsE Lillian Hunau, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application December 4, 1947, Serial No. 789,630

1 2 Claims.

This invention relates to brassieres.

It is the object of this invention to provide a brassire which will accurately define the contour of the breast in proper relation with the gown with which it is to be worn, but which will nevertheless avoid the tendency to cut into the flesh on the under side.

This brassiere is intended primarily for use with low cut gowns having a sharply defined upper line, such for example as a strapless gown having a reinforced upper edge closely conforming to the breast contour. With such a gown it is desirable that the brassiere contour conform to and keep in close registry with the contour of the gown itself.

It has heretofore been proposed to make bras sieres having a metal reinforcing member, but they have not been so constructed as sharply to define the upper breast contour cause it to conform accurately to the contour of the gown, and at the same time such brassires have provided the metal reinforcement below the breast tissue where it tended to be extremely uncomfortable, but cutting into the fiesh. In accordance with this invention no wire reinforcing is employed on the under side of the breast, so that all tendency of the metal to .cut into the tissue is avoided. At the same time, the upper contour of the brassiere and hence the upper contour of the breast is confined by the metal reinforcement to make it accurately conform to that required by the gown with which it is to be worn.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a brassiere of the type described in which a single wire reinforcing member encircles all of the upper portion of each breast, the two halves being joined together substantially at the bottom of the breast line in the center.

It is a further object to provide a brassiere of the type described in which the breast pockets are attached together by the wire reinforcement, the ends of which removably fit within a peripheral hem in the two pockets and a detaining means is provided to prevent the reinforcement from'sliding out of or becoming displaced within the hem unless specifically released.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a figure of a young woman wearing a brassire made in accordance with this invention. 2 is a front elevation of the brassiere. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the reinforcing wire with the brassiere removed. Fig. 4 is a detail of the detaining means. Fig. 5 is a section through the center of the breast pockets on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the reinforcing wire. I

In the drawings the numeral :6 designates either one of a pair of breast pockets having the desired contour. In accordance with this invention the metal reinforcement extends around all that portion of the periphery of the breast pockets which is substantially in registry with the upper line of the gown. As shown, each breast pocket has a substantially straght lower edge, straight sides and a curved upper edge, but

1e exact contour will depend upon the design of the gown with which the garment is to be worn. The breast pockets are held upon the body by the body encircling elements or back portion H in the usual manner.

Each breast pocket has a peripheral hem i2 extending up the outside, as at M, and around the curved upper edge, as shown at l5, and for reasons which will appear, with another hem 13' A suitable wire to has its of the hems l3 and having its ends 18 curved to conform to hems E 3, l4 and 15. The central portion ll preferably has an obstruction such as a reverse upper bend id as shown, to revent the lower edge of either seam 13 from slipping down on to the connecting portion H. The portion !8 near the top of the hem I3 is provided with a hook 2| formed by twice reversely bending the wire, this hook portion being of small enough dimensions so that it may be slipped upwardly within the hem l3 and yet will hook over the top edge 22 of hem l3 (see Fig. 4). As will be seen from Fig. 6, the outer ends 29 of the wire fitting within the hem l i, commencing at the bend 28, are bent upwardly out of the plane of the remainder, so that when the garment is held in place on the body and the ends 29 are held against the body by the tension of the body band the central portions 5 i will be held firmly against the body between the breasts.

The garment may be assembled upon the reinforcing wire by threading the hems !3, I5 and I4 over the end it of the wire, sliding it over the top and down over the wire until the upper edge 3 22 of the hem 13 can be caught beneath the hook 2|, as shown in Fig. 4, at which time the lower end of the hem I3 will lie against the bottom H and be held from sliding over the bottom by the obstruction !9. It will be understood that the seam 85 while not very stiff is nevertheless stiff enough to prevent puckering or gathering upon the wire, and thus the breast pocket is held firmly in place upon the wire by the cooperation between the bottom I! and the hook 2 i In general, I prefer to provide a fabric element folded back upon itself, as shown at 23, to serve as a pocket for the reception of the hook member 2 I, to prevent it chafing the flesh.

Where it is desired firmly to confine the breast I prefer to provide a reinforcement 25, extending along the bottom side of both breast pockets of any suitable soft material, such as a soft plush, and of such width as to rest the element upon the flesh without discomfort. No wire reinforcement is used on the bottom edge of the pockets. I also prefer to provide a pair of ribbone 26 attached to the adjacent edges of the breast pockets which may be wrapped around the wire and tied together to conceal the reinforcing wire.

With the above construction it will be clear that the shape of the reinforcing wire determines the upper contour of the brassiere and the contour of the breast, and by making this reinforcing wire in conformity with the design of the gown, both breast and brassiere may be kept in proper relation to the gown. Moreover, by reason of the fact that there is no wire reinforcement whatsoever on the under side of the brassiere there is no tendency for such wire to cutinto the flesh and cause discomfort.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim:

1. A strapless brassiere comprising a pair of breast pockets attached at their outside edges to a body encircling member, each of said pockets having on the inside edges a lower hem extending from the bottom of the breast pocket to the middle of the inside edge, and an upper hem extending from the top of the lower hem upwardly over the top and down on the outside edge, a wire reinforcing element bent at the bottom of the center to a U-shape to form a leg for each breast pocket, each of said legs being bent up and around the sides and top of one of the breast pockets and having a reversely bent hook at a point corresponding to the top of the lower hem, said wire being enclosed within said hems from the bottom of the inside edge to the bottom of the outside edge of the breast pockets with said reversely bent hook extending out of the hems at the top of the lower hems and fitting over the top edge of said hem, and padding attached to said pockets at the top of said lower hem to protect the wearer from the hook and whereby the bottom of the lower hem bears against the bottom of the center of the wire, so that the lower hem is held. by the wire at both top and bottom.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the outer ends of the wire are bent out of the plane of the center, whereby when the brassiere is held in place the central portion is held against the body by the spring action of the wire.

LILLIAN HUNAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

